Method and apparatus for producing weight controlled groups of sliced food product

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for producing weight controlled stacks of counted slices cut from an elongated mass of food product includes means for feeding the mass longitudinally along a downward feed path into a cutting path normal thereto, a rotary knife movable around the cutting path to cut slices from the mass, means below the cutting path for accumulating a selected number of the slices into a group, means positioned below the accumulating means for weighing a group of slices and producing a signal in response to the weight thereof, means for removing the group from the weighing means after the signal is produced, means for varying the rotary speed of the knife around the cutting path according to the weight signal, and means for accepting or rejecting weighed groups in response to the weight signal.

"United States Patent 1 1 Marshall 1, al,

[111 73,824,885 1451 July 23, 1974 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCINGWEIGHT CONTROLLED GROUPS OF 'SLICED FOOD PRODUCT [75] Inventors: RobertHoward Marshall, l-linsdale;

Gary Leonard Wallace, Oak Lawn,

both of I11.

[73] Assignee: Chemetron Corporation, Chicago,

Ill.

[22] Filed: Sept. 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 293,045

[52] U.S. Cl. 83/19, 83/176 [51] Int. Cl B26d 7/08, B26d 4/22 [58] Fieldof Search 83/14, 19, 176,73, 77, 83/580; 425/311- [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,332,170 10/1943 Sapp 425/311 2,342,093 2/1944Weida..

3,318,351 Werder 83/92 Zwart, Jr. et a1. 425/311 X Nordberg et al 83/580X Primary Examiner-Willie G. Abercrombie [5 7] ABSTRACT A method andapparatus for producing weight controlled stacks of counted slices cutfrom an elongated mass of food product includes means for feeding themass longitudinally along a downward feed path into a cutting pathnormal'thereto, a rotary knife movable around the cutting path to cutslices from the mass,

' means below the-cutting path for accumulating a selected number of theslices into a group, means positioned below the accumulating means forweighing a group of slices and producing a signal in response to theweight thereof, means for removing the group from the weighing meansafter the signal is produced, means for varying the rotary speed of theknife around the cutting path according to the ,weight signal, and meansfor accepting or rejecting weighed groups in response to the weightsignal.

' 14 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL 2 3 I974 PAIENIED JUL 2 3I974 sum 021x1 mimmmzalsn sum 03 or 13 mmzomz 3.824.885

sum nu or 13 35 sue: almppme J6 PATENTEDJULZZHBH sum m nr 13 NW SawPATENTED JUL 2 3 I974 sum 10 o 13' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCINGWEIGHT CONTROLLED GROUPS OF SLICED FOOD PRODUCT The present invention isdirected towards a new and improved method and apparatus for producingweight controlled stacks or groups of counted slices cut from anelongated mass or loaf of a food products such as cold cuts, sausage,cheese or the like. Food products such as process cheese, luncheonmeats, bologna, salami and the like are produced in elongated loaves,often 4 to 6 feet long, having generally uniform crosssections ofvarious shapes and dimensions. These products are sold at retail outletsto the consuming public in relatively small packages containingaselected number of relatively thin slices cut transversely from theloaf.

In commercial practice, each package containing a stack or other groupof counted slices must have a net food product weight exceeding or atleast equal to a weight printed or otherwise indicated on the package.It is desirable to produce such packages which closely meet the weightsindicated'on the packages with a minimum number of underweight rejects.Also it is very important to minimize the amount of excess food productfurnished above the weights indicated on the packages. Thus, greatsavings can be obtained by mass producing the packages within closetolerances on an automatic weight-controlled slicing system capable ofoperating at high production rates.

Prior cutters and weighers are capable of maintaining production ratesof only about 20 percent of theproduction rate of the apparatus of thepresent invention. Accordingly, the present invention provides greateconomic savings in terms of an increased production rate, a reductionin the occurrence of underweight and overweight packages and asignificant savings in laborcost per package. i

It is therefore anobject of the present invention to provide a new andimproved method and apparatus for producing weight controlled stacks ofcounted slices cut from an elongated mass or loaf of food product.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedmethod and apparatus of the char acter described, which is capable ofoperating at high production rates and maintaining a low percentage ofunderweight rejects while at the same time minimizing the amount ofexcess packaged food product above the minimum package weight required.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedapparatus of the character described which is extremely fast andreliable in operation and which is automatic from the time that a loafof food product is first introduced into the system until after theweight classified stacks or other groups of counted slices leave thesystem for further handling.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedslicer for continuously cutting successive slices from an elongated loafof food product wherein the loaf is moved uninterruptedly along a feedpath into a cutting path and wherein a speed adjustable rotary knife isprovided for cutting successive slices from the loaf at a rotary speedcontrolled according to the weight of the slices.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a slicer having anew and improved feeder for feeding a loaf of food product along a feedpath into the cutting path of a rotary knife.

Another object of the present invention'is to provide a new and improvedslicer of the character described wherein the loaf is fed through arestricted orifice located above the'cutting path of the knife forcompressively holding and positively aligning the loaf at a levelclosely adjacent to the cutting path of the knife.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedslicer of the character described wherein the orifice is taperedinwardly in the direction of the feeding of the loaf.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedslicer of the character described wherein the margin of the orifice ispositioned to provide a shearing surface cooperating with the knife inthe cutting of successive slices from the loaf.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedslicer for cutting successive slices from elongated loaves of foodproduct wherein the speed of a rotary knife is varied in response to asignal produced from a sliceweight measuring means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedslicer of the character described in combination with a stacker foraccumulating slices cut successively from a loaf and for separating theslicesinto separate groups containing a selected number of slices.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedstacker of the character described wherein each successive slice cutfrom a loaf falls 2 substantially constant distance onto a receivermovable downwardly at a rate infinitely variable within a range to equalsubstantially the rate at which the loaf is fed to be sliced.

Another" object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved stacker of the character described having means for rapidlyreleasing a group of a counted number of accumulated slices withoutinterruption of the succession of slices from the cutter supplied to thestacker.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedstacker of the character described which does not require interruptionof the feed of the loaf during the time a group of counted slices isreleased by the stacker.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedstacker of the character described operable to rapidly deposit anaccumulated stack of slices onto a weighing device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedweighing system capable of accurately weighing an accumulated group ofslices and producing a signal in response thereto.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedweighing system of the character described wherein the signal producedrepresents a deviation in the weight of a group of slices from aselected reference weight.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new andimproved control means for automatically controlling the apparatus ofthe present invention to divide an elongated mass of a food product intoa plurality of separate groups, each group containing a plurality ofseparate members, said control means including means for weighing eachof the groups and for determining whether the weight of each of thegroups is within a predetermined acceptable weight range.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new andimproved control means for automatically controlling the apparatus ofthe present invention to divide an elongated mass'of a food product intoa plurality of separate groups, each group having a plurality ofseparate members, wherein the control means includes means for weighingeach of the groups and for generating an error signal indicative of theamount by which the weight of each of the groups differs from apredetermined desired weighL' Another object of the present invention isthe provision of a new and improved control means for automaticallycontrolling the apparatus of the present invention to divide anelongated mass of a food product into a plurality of separate groups,each group having a plurality of separate slices, wherein the controlmeans includes a slicer mechanism having means for adjusting the slicingrate in response to a signal indicative of the amount by which theweight of each of the groups differs from a predetermined desiredweight.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedmeans for dividing an elongated mass of a food product into a pluralityof separate groups, each group having a plurality of separate slices,and means for forming the plurality of separate groups, wherein theforming means includes means for receiving the slices to form theseparate groups sequentially, and means for discharging eachsequentially formed group from the receiving means in response to acontrol signal.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of new andimproved means for dividing an elongated mass into a plurality ofseparate groups, each group having a plurality of separate members,wherein the dividing means includes a slicing mechanism for forming theseparate members and means for increasing the speed of the slicingmechanism in response to the receipt of a signal indicating that theweight of one of the plurality of groups of separate members is greaterthan a predetermined desired weight.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedmeans for dividing an elongated mass into a plurality of separategroups, each group having a plurality of separate members, wherein thedividing means includes a slicing mechanism for forming the separatemembers and means for decreasing the speed of the slicing mechanism inresponse to the re- Another object of the present invention is toprovide I new and improved means for dividing an elongated mass into aplurality of separate groups, each group having a plurality of separatemembers, wherein the dividing means includes means for discharging oneof the groups of separate members along a first of two discharge pathsin response to the receipt of a control sig nal indicating that theweight of that one group is outside of a predetermined acceptable weightrange.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedmeans for dividing an elongated mass into a plurality of separategroups, each group having a plurality of separate members, wherein thedividing means includes means for discharging one of the plurality ofseparate groups of separate members along a second of two dischargepathsafter a determination that the weight of that one of the pluralityof separate groups is within a predetermined acceptable weight range.

Another object of this invention is to provide new and improvedmechanism for transferring successive groups of sliced material from aplatform.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedmechanism of the character described comprising a platen having aplurality of fingers adapted to move upwardly through parallel slotsextending inwardly from an edge of the platform and a stop memberpositioned above the platen to engage the Another object of the presentinvention is to provide new and improved mechanism of the characterdescribed including means for lifting the platen from a lower to anupper level to elevate a group of slices from a platform at thebeginning of a return stroke and for lowering the platen to deposit agroup of slices on the upper belt runs of a belt conveyor at the end ofa return stroke.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedapparatus for classifying successive groups of the slices.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedclassifying apparatus of the characones of the signals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedclassifying apparatus of the character described wherein the conveyorhas conveying and returning runs and comprises endless parallel bandsentrained over parallel roll means at opposite ends of the runs of theconveyor and wherein the moving means axially shifts the roll means atone end of theruns in response to the aforesaid selected ones of thesignals.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be evident from the following description, with the aidof the accompanying drawings, 'of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

Briefly, in a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the presentinvention there is provided an automatically controlled apparatus forproducing weight controlled stacks of a selected counted number ofslices cut from an elongated mass or load of food product. The apparatusincludes means for feeding the loaves longitudinally in end-to-endrelation along a downward feed path at a substantiallyconstant feed rateinto the cutting path of a rotary slicing knife. A stacker mechanismbelow the cutting path is provided for receiving and accumulating aselected number of slices into groups and then releasing or depositingthe groupson a weighing system scale for measuring the weight thereofwithout requiring interruption of the normal feed rate of the loaves fedto the knife of the slicer. The weighing system provides a signal forinitiating speed changes in an adjustable speed motor driving the rotaryknife thereby to vary the thickness of slices being cut from the loaf inresponse to the weight of a stack or group of slices weighed. The signalfrom the weighing system is also provided for initiating action of aproduct accept-reject mechanism which delivers the stacks in successionto a discharge conveyor. The position of delivery to the conveyor isindicative of whether or not the stack is to be accepted or rejected. Ahigh speed transfer system is provided for removing the weighed stacksof sliced product from the scale platform of the weighing system and fortransferring the stacks to the product accept-reject mechanism.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should behad to the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with thedrawings in which:

' FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a new and improved apparatus forproducing weight controlled groups of sliced food product and-the likeconstructed in accordance with thefeatures of the present invention', I

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 isan isometric diagram in schematic animated form illustratingthe flow path of movement of the food product as it ismoved through thevarious-components of the complete apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top plan view looking downwardly into the upperreceiving end of a feeder for directing the loaves into the slicer ofthe apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the feeder taken substantially alongline 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevational sectional view taken substantially along line6-6 illustrating a drive train arrangement for the belts of the feeder;

, FIG. 7 is an elevational sectional view of the feede drive train takensubstantially along line 7-7 of FIG. 4'

, FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating a stacker of theapparatus in accordance with the features of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the stacker;

FIG. 10 is a transverse sectional elevational view taken substantiallyalong line 1010 of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11a and 11b are a side elevationalview of a weighing sytem andtransfer system of the apparatus in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIGS. 12a and 12b are a top plan view of the weighing and transfersystems showing a product acceptreject mechanism of the apparatus inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12A is a sectional view taken substantially along line 12A-12A ofFIG. 11b, and

FIGS. 13A, B, and C illustrate schematically an electrical controlsystem for operatingand controlling the apparatus of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE APPARATUS weight controlled stacks or groupscontaining a selected number of slices cut from an elongated mass orloaf of food product such as cheese, meats, cold cuts, sausage, etc. Theapparatus is especially well adapted for producing discrete or separategroups or stacks of a counted number of slices of food product, eachgroup having a measured weight equal to or exceeding a selected netweight which isprinted or indicated on the package in which the. stackissold. The apparatus includes a loader 30 for receiving elongatedmasses or loaves 32 of food product. or the like and elevating,orienting and feeding the loaves in end-to-end relation onto a downwardfeed path towarda feeder 34. The feeder is adapted to feed the loaves ata selected feed rate into the cutting path of 'a rotating knife 36 of arequirement. The knife is carried on a shaft 38 generally parallel speedthe feed path of the loaves into the slicer and is driven by a variablespeed motor 40 to vary the thickness of the slices to produce stacks orgroups meeting a minimum weight requirement for a selected number ofslices in a package. The knife motor and shaft arev supported from a topwall108 of a knife housing 110, which housing in turn is pivotallysupported from a main apparatus housing 164 (FIGS. 1 and 2) on a pair ofpivot pin assemblies 168. The main housing 164'is supported from a floororother structure on legs 166. t i

As shown in FIG. 5, the cutting path of the rotating knife 36 beneaththe top wall 108 of the knife housing is in shearing relation with themargin or lower edge of a restrictive orifice defining ring 42positioned at the lower or discharge end of the feeder 34. The feeder 34guides the loaves through the restricted orifice opening whichcompresses and holds the product as the slices are cut therefrom. As theslices are cut by the knife they fall onto a stacker or stackingmechanism 44 (FIGS. 8, 9 and 10) for accumulation and separation intogroups or stacks 46, each of which contains a counted selected number ofslices havinga prescribed minimum weight. The stacker 44 accumulates acounted selected number of slices which are fed from the slicer atsubstantially constant intervals between slices and discharges ordeposits the stacks onto a scale platform 220 of a weighing system 48which includes means for rapidly weighing the stacks and determiningwhether or not a stack meets the minimum weight requirment. The weighingsystem provides a control signal for adjusting the soeed of the motor 40and consequently the knife speed to vary the thickness of the slices cutso that subsequent stacks will closely approach a desired optimum weightvalue. After weighing of the stacks has been completed the stacks areremoved from the scale platform by a transfer system 50 and areclassified by a product accept-reject mechanism before deposit onto adischarge conveyor 52.

In accordance with the present invention the weighing system 48, inconjunction with the accept-reject system 51 of the transfer system 50,positions the stacks the conveyor and this out of line position is anindication to an operator, at a subsequent processing or machinelocation that the stack is a reject and should be returned for rework.

The method and apparatus of the present invention is adapted to handleelongated masses or loaves 32 of meat and other food products such ascheese, etc.

which is produced with a variety of different transverse cross sectionalshapes and dimensions and the apparatus is' adjustable by an operator toproduce stacks of slices numbering in a wide range, for example from 2to 29 slices per stack, and a wide range of stack weights, .for examplea range from approximately two to thirty ounces. Depending upon thedensity of the particular product being sliced, the number of slices ina stack to provide a given weight may vary somewhat and an operator mayselect both the number of slices in a stackand a minimum stack weight,as well as a tolerance range for overweight rejects to thereby minimizethe amount of extra product supplied over the minimum required. Acontrol console 39 with suitable indicators is provided for the operatorfor monitoring and selecting the number of slices and the weight minimumfor the stacks. The elongated loaves of product to be sliced are of asubstantially uniform cross-section 8 v on a shaft 76 having a toothedgear 78 on one end, which gear is in driven engagement with a main drivegear 80 (FIG. 6). The drive gear 80 is carried on ashaft 82 coupled tothe output shaft of the motor 70. The cleated belt 66 is movable along afixed, downwardly extending belt run and the opposite belt 68 isadjustable laterally toward and away from the belt run to accommodatedifferent cross-sectional shapes and sizes of loaves that are handled bythe feeder. The drive roll 74 of the cleated belt 68 is mounted on ashaft 84 having a gear 86 'on one end thereof and this gear is indriving engagement with an idler gear 88 mounted on an idler shaft 90.The shaft 90 is linked with the shaft 82 by a pivot link 92 and, as bestshown in FIG. 6, as ad- 15 justments in the lateral spacing between theendless drive belts 66 and 68 are made, the gear 86 is moved toward andaway from the gear 78 (as indicated by the arrow A) while in continuoussynchronous driven engagement' therewith through the main driven gear 86and the idler gear 88. In order to insure that the idler gear 88 iscontinuously biased into driving engagement a backing guide member 100having a belt engaging throughout their length except possibly for theends of the loaves which may be rounded in a sort of bullet shape.

The loaves 32 are normally brought at random time intervals by trucks orthe like to' the loader 30 and are unloaded to lay side by sidehorizontally on a table structure 54 which is positioned at a normalworking or supply level. The loaves are held in readiness-on the tablestructure and elevated one by one by an upright elevating mechanism 56to an upper level for eventual discharge in longitudinal end-to-endrelation by a lateral discharge conveyor 58. The loaves are directedlaterally outwardly by the conveyor into a downwardly curving chutestructure 60 which changes their direction of feed from generallyhorizontal toward a vertical feed path into the upper end of the feeder34. If it is desired or necessary the bullet shaped ends 32a of theloaves may be chopped off or cropped in the loader by a pair of rotatingknives 62 driven by motors 64. Details of the loader 30 are set forth inthe copending US. patent application Ser. No. 293,145, filed Sept.28,1972, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

The loaves 32 are directed by the feeder 34 into the slicer 37 along adownward feed path through the restricted orifice openingin the orificering 42. The feed path intersects the cutting plane of the rotatingknife 36 below the top wall 108 of the knife housing. The feeder 34includes a pair of cleated endless belts 66 and 68 driven at a selectedspeed by a reversible feederretractor motor 70. The belts 66 and 68 arecleated on both sides and are driven by a pair of lower drive rolls 72and 74 having cleat engaging ridges and grooves thereon for positivelysynchronizing the feed speed of the belts to produce a substantiallyconstant rate of feed into the cutting path. The drive roll 72 ismounted between the gears and '86, the shaft includes a fiatted endportion 90a which is urged downwardly by a finger 92 biased downwardlyby a coil spring 94 (FIG. 7).

The upper ends of the belts are supported by idler rolls 96 and 98respectively and each belt has an inside, downward run opposite andfacing the other for positive driving engagement on opposite sides ofthe loaves 32. As best shown in FIG. 5 the belt 66 is provided withsurface formed with alternate ridges and grooves thereon providing anundulated guide path for the driving run of the belt. The belt 68 has asimilar backing guide member 102 with an undulated' guide surface andthe ridges on one guide member are disposed opposite the grooves on theopposite guide so that a serpentine path is defined between the guides100 and 102 by the driving runs of the belts 66 and 68 The serpentinepath provided by the drive runs of the belts 66 and 68 provides forpositive gripping and feeding of the loaves into the slicer 37 and asubstantially constant downward feed rate is maintained with very littleif any slippage. The belt' backing guides 100 and 102 insure that eachloaf passing through the feeder 34 is positively fed along a precisefeed path into the cutting path of the knife 36 at a substantiallyconstant selected feed rate.

In order to accommodate loaves 32 having various different crosssections and transverse dimensions, the belt 68 and backing structure102 are supported on a support 104 movable toward and away from the runof the belt 66 which is relatively fixed and supported from a structure106. Both belt support structures extend upwardly from the top wall 108of the knife housing 110 are offset from the axis of rotation of theknife. The wall 108 is octagonal in shape as shown in FIG. 2 andnormally is positioned to overly a similarly shaped opening in the topwall of the main housing 164 when the slicer is in a normal operatingposition. When it is desired to clean the slicer or change the knife 36,the knife housing 110 is pivoted on the pivot axles 168 to expose theunderside of the wall 102 and knife 36. The support 106 for the belt 66includes an upright guide 112 of generally Z-shaped transversecross-section (FIG. 4) and the lower end of this structure is attachedto the housing wall 108 by a pair of pivot pins 1 l4 having pull ringsin the end for extracting the pins so that the feeder 34 may 'bedisconnected from the knife housing 110 for cleaning or maintenance ifrequired. The pins 114 normally extend through aligned apertures in apair of brackets 116 secured to the guide structure 112 and a pair ofupstanding brackets 118 mounted on the top wall 108 of the knifehousing.

As best shown in FIG. 5, the Z-shaped guide 112 is formed with aplurality of spaced apart, horizontal fingers 120 along one flangethereof, said fingers projecting outwardlyof the face of the driving runof thebelt 66 for engaging and laterally guiding a transverse side of aloaf 32 fed down the feed path into the orifice ring 42. The support 104for the belt 68 includes a similar guide 122 of Z-shaped transversecross-section (FIG. 4) and this guide has a plurality of spaced apart,horizontal fingers 124 along one flange adapted to extend into the slotsand mesh between the fingers 1200f the guide 106 when the spacinginterval between the belts 66 and 68 is reduced to accommodaterelatively thin loaves of food product. Pairs of. guide fingers 120 and124 thus cooperate to provide a transverse guiding surface that isadjustable in width and generally transverse to paths of the drivingruns of the endless belts 66 and 68.

The guide structure 122, endless belt 68 and backing member 102 aresupported for movement toward and away from the belt 66 from a pair ofparallel horizontal rods 126 disposed outwardly of opposite edges of thebelts 66 and 68. The support rods extend between sleeves 128 mountedadjacent the upper end of the up: right 112 and mounting aperturesprovided in the upper end of an upright support 130 spaced outwardly ofthe belt 68. The drive shafts 76 and 84 for the drive rolls 72 and 74and the shafts for the upper idler rolls 96 and 98 of the belts 66 and68, are mounted and supported on bearings (not shown in detail) carriedon the finger flanges of the respective upright guides 112 and 122. Theguide 122 is provided with a pairof support sleeves 132 similar to thesleeves 128 and in sliding engagement on the support rods 126 so thatthe belt- 68 may be adjusted in the direction of the arrows B in FIGS. 4and toward and away from thebelt 66. The upright support 130 isdetachably connectedto the top wall 108 of the knife housing 110 bymeans of a pair of removable pins 134 having pull rings at one end andthe pins are adapted to project through aligned openings in the lowerpart of the upright support 130 and a pair of upstanding lugs 136secured to the knife housing top wall 108 (FIG. 5). By removing bothsets of pins 114 and 134, the entire feeder 34 can be dismounted fromthe knife housing 110 of the slicer 37 and if only the pins 134 areremoved, the structure of the feeder can be pivoted in acounterclockwise direction (FIG. 5) about the axis pins 114 to exposethe lower or discharge end of the feeder and expose the removableorifice ring 42.

Orifice rings having various different shapes and sizes of restrictedorifices are insertable in an opening in the housing top wall 108 offsetoutwardly of the axis of the drive shaft 38 of the knife as best shownin FIG. 5. Each time that loaves of a different cross-section aresliced, an appropriately shaped orifice ring is inserted and locked inplace in the opening in the knife housing top wall 108.

Adjustment of the position of the endless belt 68 toward or away fromthe belt 66 in the directions indicated by the arrows B to accommodatedifferent types of product is set and controlled by a hand wheel 128mounted on the end of a threaded shaft 140. The shaft, which extendsthrough an internally threaded collar 142 provided on the upright, 130,is coupled at its inner end to the back side of the guide member 122 viaa coupling 144. Turning of the hand wheel 138 positively adjusts andholds spacing between the belts 66 and 68 providing a serpentine path ofselected width for the loaves 32 fed into the cutting path of the knife36.

Referring to FIG. 4, the feeder 34 is provided with an elongated uprightguide bar 146 spaced opposite the cooperating guide fingers and 124 andadjustably positioned to move toward and away from'the guide fingers aswell as toward and away from the faces of the belts 66 and 68asindicated in the dotted lines of FIG. 4. The guide bar 146 is providedwith a pair of support pins 148 extending outwardly and slidably mountedin openings provided in a separate upright member 150. The upright 150in turn is slidably supported on a pair of rods 152 extending outwardlyfrom a relatively fixed member 154. A hand wheel 156 on the outer end ofa threaded adjustment rod 158 is provided for adjusting (in thedirection of the arrows C) and setting the position of the guide bar 146(FIG. 4) relative to the opposite guide fingers 120 and 124. The innerend of the adjustment rod 158 is rotatively coupled to the guide barandthe rod extends through an internally threaded collar attached to themember150 to provide in and out position adjustment of the guide barrelative to the support member 150. The support 150 is slidable on therods 152 and is movable in the direction of the arrows D. Clamping meansis provided for securing the member 150 in a selected position on therods 152 after an adjustment is made and a position is selected.

The elongated loaves 32 of food product are positively fed at a selectedsubstantially constant rate along the feed path by the drivingengagement of the driving runs of the cleated feed belts 66 and 68 andthe product is compressed and bent in reverse direction as it moves downthe serpentine path defined by the belts and their backing members 102.Each loaf is positively gripped by the belts and fed into the path ofthe cutting'knife 36 so that little if any slippage occurs. The loavesare retained between the feed belts by the cooperating guide fingers 120and 124 on one side and the adjustable guide bar 146 on the oppositeside.

In accordance with the present invention, in order to hold and preciselyguide the product loaves 32 into cutting engagement with the rotatingknife 36, the insertable orifice rings 42 are seated in the openingprovided in the top wall 108 of the knife housing. For each differentcross-sectional shape or size of loaf being slices, an appropriateorifice ring 42 is provided. The rings are dimensioned so that thedimension at the lower edge or margin of the orifice opening is slightlysmaller than the normaluncompressedcross-section of the product loafbeing sliced. The loaves, being substantially uniform in cross-section,are compressed inwardly towards the longitudinal axis thereof byengagement with the walls of the orifice ring 42. The loaves are alsocompressed in a longitudinal direction when forced through the orificering because the walls of the orifice opening are convergently tapered.The orifice ring and its compression effect on the loaf supports the endportion and per mits a loaf to be sliced down to its end after it is nolonger in engagement with the belts of the feeder.

As shown in FIG. 5, the margin or lower edge of the orifice ring 42 issecured in shear cutting relation with the cutting path defined by thecutting edge of the rotating knife 36 so that precise and rapidslicingof the positively held food product loaves 32 is achieved. Asslices from the loaf 32 are cut by the high speed rotary knife 36, theindividual slices fall'down'wardly from the cutting path for groupinginto stacks having a selected number of slices therein by the stacker 44(FIGS. 8, 9 and 10). The slices are cut from the loaves 32 on anuninterrupted basis as the loaves are moved downwardly into the slicer37 at a constant rate by the feeder 34 through the orifice ring 42. Itis a feature of the present invention that no interruption in feeding ofthe loaves is required because the stacker 44 is operable to rapidlyhandle and'separate accumulated slices into stacks having the selectednumber of slices therein. In addition, the stacker 44 provides for asubstantially constant distance of fall for each slice'as it leaves thecutting plane to a level whereat the slice is supported either by apreceding slice as the stack is accumulating or by a support platen. Asubstantially constant distance of fall from the cutting path to asupportlevel for each slice being cut is accomplishedby providing avertically reciprocating carriage 160 movable from an upper or startinglevel on a downward stroke at substantially the same speed as the loaves32 are fed downwardly by the feeder 34 into the cutting path of theknife 36. As a stack is collected and the height or thickness of thestack increases, the downward travel of the carriage 160 compensates toprovide essentially a constant support level foreach successive slicefalling from the cutting path. Thestacker 44 of the present invention isoperable at very high speeds so that production'rates as high as160stacks per minute or greater are achieved. The stacker includes arectangular enclosure or housing 162 mounted beneath the knife housing110 and within the main housing or enclosure 164 of the apparatus.

The carriage 160 comprises a vertical front plate supporting a pair ofhorizontal shaft housings 172 which project outwardly thereof and aredetachably mounted on the front plate. The housings include circularbase flanges .174 removably attachedto the carriageplateby large headedfasteners 176. The shaft housings 172 are aligned in horizontal parallelrelation and are spaced on opposite sides of a vertical centerlinethrough the front plate 170 aligned below the downward feed path ofloaves moving through the feeder 34 and the slices cut from the loavesby the rotating knife 36. As best shown in FIG. 10, the front plate ofthe stacker carriage is provided with a pair of rearwardly extendinglugs 178 having vertical apertures therein and slidably disposed on anupright guide rod 180 for guiding the travel of the carriage inrepetitive cycles comprising downward and return strokes. The carriageis biased upwardly to an upper starting level by a coil spring 182disposed on the rod and a cushion 184 is provided adjacent the upper endof the rod to aid in cushioning the carriage at the end of an upwardreturn stroke. A pair of incremental stepping motors 18 6 and 187aremounted on the back of the carriage plate 170 and the axes of themotors are in coaxial alignment with the left and right hand shafthousings 172. The stepping motors are adapted to drive and aredetachably coupled to a pair of outwardly extending platen controlshafts 188 with each shaft supporting three rows of outwardly extendinghair pin shaped fingers 190 arranged in planes spaced at angles apartaround the axes of'the'shafts'as viewed in FIG. 9. The sets of fingers190 in each plane on the left hand shaft 188 comprises a paddle-likeplaten 192 and similarly for the right shaft, platens 192R are formed.Successive pairs of horizontally aligned 'intermeshing platens 'l92L-and192R provide support for accumulating successive stacks of slicedproduct out from the loaves 32 by the knife 36 in the cutting pathabove. As

best shown in FIG. 9 the left and right shafts 188 are indexed bystepping motorsin increments of l20 in opposite directions so that thepairs of platens 192L and 192R cooperate to discharge an accumulatedstack downwardly toward the weighing system and the next pair of platens192L and 192R then form a horizontal support for accumulating the nextsuccessive stack of slices 46 thereon.

As additionalslices are cut and added to a stack formed on the platens,the carriage is traveling downwardly at a rate substantially the same asthe rate of feed of the loaves 32 into the cutting path of the knife 36.Accordingly, a substantially constant distance of fall from the cuttingpath to a support level is provided by the stacker 44 for the;successive slices in a stack. As the last slices in the stack are beingadded the carriage 160 is approaching the lowestmost position, and thestepping motors 186 and l87.are.energized by controlled pulses torotatively index the shafts 188 by 120 in opposite directions as shownin FIG. 9 to discharge or release theaccumulat'ed stack of meat slicesand form thenext support means with a successive set of cooperativeplatens 192L and 192R moving into the horizontal position ready toaccumulate the slices of the succeeding stack. Indexing of the shafts188 by the stepping motors 186 and 187 is rapid so that the alreadyaccumulated stack of slices is released and the next set of platens1921.. and 192R move into horizontal position with no interruption ofthe normal feed rate of the load into the slicer. Indexing of theplatens occurs during the time that the carriage 160 is moving upwardlyon its return stroke by the spring 182 so that, as the first slicearrives for the next successive stack, a substantially constant droppingis maintained. As each successive slice is accumulated in a stack, thecarriage 160 has moved downwardly by an increment substantially equal tothe thickness of the slice.

Travel of the carriage 160 on a downward stroke while accumulating thesliced meat product is accomplished by means of a vertical, toothed rack194 secured to the back of the carriage platen on a supporting structure196. The rack is in meshing engagement with a pinion, 198 mounted on apinion shaft 200 which is coupled to the output shaft of anelectromagnetic particle clutch 202. An input shaft of the clutch 202 iscoupled to a gear reducer 204 which in turn is coupled to the outputshaft of a continuously rotating stacker drive motor206 through a rightangle gear box 208 as best shown in FIG. .9. The stacker drive motor,the speed of which is infinitely variable over a range to enable therate of downward movement of the carriage 160 substantially to equal therate at which the load being sliced is fed to the slicer, iscontinuously energized and running when the apparatus 20 is in operationand the clutch 202 is intermittently supplied with power for preciseintervals of time to rotate the pinion 198 in a counter-clockwisedirection (arrow P FIG. 10) for driving the carriage on a downwardstroke at a se-

1. Apparatus for cutting slices from an elongated preformed loaf ofcompressible product having a substantially uniform crosssection, saidapparatus comprising a knife rotatable around a cutting path, means forforcing said loaf along a feed path intersecting said cutting path tocause successive slices to be cut from said loaf, and an orifice ringpositioned across said feed path at its discharge end and formed with arestricted orifice for compressively holding said masS and guiding saidloaf into closely adjacent cutting engagement with said knife.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said orifice is tapered inwardly in thedirection of the feeding of said loaf.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1wherein said orifice has a shape conforming substantially to the shapeof the cross-section of said loaf and is slightly smaller in size tocompress said loaf as the loaf moves along said feed path toward saidcutting path.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the margin of saidorifice is positioned to provide a shearing surface cooperating withsaid knife in the cutting of successive slices from said loaf.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said feed path is directed downwardlytoward said cutting path.
 6. A method of cutting successive slices froman elongated preformed loaf of compressible product having asubstantially uniform cross-section comprising the steps of forciblyfeeding the loaf along a feed path, and through a restrictive orificeformed in an orifice ring positioned across said feed path at itsdischarge end thereby compressively holding said loaf, and cuttingsuccessive slices from a portion of the loaf passed through the orifice.7. The method of claim 6 wherein said loaf is compressed transverselytoward a central portion of said feed path as said loaf is fed throughsaid orifice.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said cutting isaccomplished in a cutting path closely adjacent to the margin of saidorifice where said loaf is under compression.
 9. The method of claim 8wherein said loaf is held under compression longitudinally as each sliceis cut.
 10. Apparatus for cutting successive slices from an elongatedpreformed loaf of food product or the like having a substantiallyuniform transverse cross-section comprising an orifice ring defining amass compressing orifice having an entrance side and an exit side,cutting means movable in a cutting path closely adjacent said exit sideto shear successive slices from said loaf protruding beyond said exitside of said orifice, and means forcing said loaf in a longitudinaldirection through said orifice.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 whereinsaid orifice is formed by an annular wall tapering between a largeropening area adjacent said entry side to a smaller opening area adjacentsaid exit side to increase the compression on said loaf as said loafpasses through said orifice.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein saidwall is disposed to provide a shearing edge cooperating with saidcutting means.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said cutting meansincludes a cutting edge rotating around an axis spaced eccentrically ofthe path traversed by a loaf passing through said orifice.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said orifice ring is interchangeable withanother orifice ring formed with a restrictive orifice having differentdimensions.